


Dogged Pursuit

by FairsFair



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Multi, Other, Zack Fair Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:41:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26097307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FairsFair/pseuds/FairsFair
Summary: Kunsel and Cissnei are given an assignment to apprehend the artist that has been painting Stamp the dog all over Midgar.  Kunsel discovers that their culprit, Finn, is someone that they had both already knew.Inspired by a tweet from @FFPeasants on Twitter about a fan theory concerning the Avalanche member, Finn.
Relationships: Cissnei & Kunsel (Compilation of FFVII), Cissnei/Kunsel (Compilation of FFVII), Cissnei/Kunsel/Zack, Cissnei/Zack Fair, Zack Fair & Kunsel, Zack Fair/Kunsel
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	Dogged Pursuit

The scent of the tracks that ran beneath the city was one of must and grime. Kunsel could feel the grease in the air cling to his lips. It tasted like sour mud in the world's worst way. Gods, he’d need to take a long shower after a day like this. Finally, this tracking assignment could be over. The Avalanche member that had been caught on cameras tagging the sewers, the rail system, and the inner reactors would finally be caught. Then, they could pump him for information. 

Supposedly.

Avalanche was a massive network and they’d been tracking members for years. Even Zack Fair had his share of missions dealing with them. Recently, they’d been getting too smart when navigating the reactors. They had to have at least a handful of ShinRa employees on the inside giving them information! ShinRa’s biggest lead was the artist that painted images of Stamp--SOLDIER propaganda, of all things!--in the oddest of places. Images were on walls behind _employee access only_ doors, in stairwells, and behind vending machines. 

Shin-Ra knew very few things about this artist. He was tall. He probably lived in the Sector 7 slums. He knew which doors in the ShinRa building were easiest to break into. He only painted _Stamp the Dog._

If they found him, Kunsel doubted he’d talk. Avalanche never talked. Not even if they got a Turk to do the interrogation. 

Behind him, Kunsel could hear the soft steps of his own assigned Turk as she maneuvered quietly in the shadows. Someone un-enhanced would never have noticed her. He looked back and caught sight of her frizz of ginger hair and big brown eyes looking back at him. Cissnei smiled gently, lifted her hand as if to say, ‘well, go on.’

She looked so _non-threatening._

Cissnei was _so_ unnecessary for this mission. She was tasked with assisting him in neutralizing the target--sure. Kunsel knew he could do it on his own. Heideggar knew that Kunsel was more than capable of doing this job on his own. Yet, here she was. Kunsel’s very own Turk. Cissnei always became a SOLDIER’s best friend when something went horribly wrong in the company. She did it with Zack when he lost Angeal. She did it with Kunsel now that he'd lost Zack. 

It was her job to be friendly. She didn’t actually show up and help because she cared or was actually trying to be a decent friend. She was only present because she was told to. 

But _why_ \--?

For a moment, Kunsel squeezed his eyes shut to clear his thoughts. He pretended that she was assigned to him only for these easy Avalanche missions and not because she was supposed to be spying on him and waiting for him to break. He pretended that they were _actually_ friends and that the drinks they'd get after this at Goblin's bar were just something that friends _did._ Kunsel wanted to believe that she cared. Yet, he couldn't ignore her those big brown eyes of hers burning a hole on his back. Had Zack felt like this back then? 

A grieving SOLDIER was a risk. Their minds never worked right. Mako enhanced the senses, but it also made the emotions turbulent without proper management. One wrong move, and a fully enhanced SOLDIER could hurt a lot of people. That was proven. Grief was not something taken lightly among SOLDIERs.

Despite her size, Cissnei was fast enough to neutralize that risk in a matter of minutes. Kunsel already knew that she had at least five exposed weapons on her person. He didn’t want to think about what else she could be hiding under that suit. Maybe that was why Zack always played nice with her.

He sighed. 

Cissnei and Zack both had always had their own personal secrets. Zack had hid in a corner with Cissnei a number of times on missions where he shouldn’t have been trying to be social. They laughed with their own inside jokes in hushed whispers when they thought nobody was looking. Then, if someone caught them, Zack would loudly ask her out to dinner and she would loudly decline. They’d laugh about it a little more and go their separate ways. Cissnei always gave a half-salute in Zack’s direction. Then, Zack would put his hands on his hips, walking away like a dejected and winded puppy. His smile would still be there, a perfect sunshine expression no matter the weather. Kunsel was convinced that their flirting was a game they played--maybe they'd invented it on one of the vacations to Costa del Sol that Cissnei so much loved to accompany Zack on. 

Obviously, Zack played nice with her because he liked her. Zack was always nice to girls.

Kunsel felt his heart sink. 

No, Zack was nice with everyone.

Zack had always shared the same familiarity with him and any man, woman, or child that crossed his path. Zack Fair had a way of making any person he met family. 

Which was why it was so crippling to hear that Zack had actually died. Not a runaway. Shot. In the desert. Buried by the Turks themselves.

“Kunsel?” Cissnei said, her voice just above a whisper. She gave a customary head-tilt that she always gave when he was worried around her. Kunsel had become familiar with it. Cissnei showed very little emotion-- just about as much expression as Kunsel allowed himself. Her way of showing concern was tipping her head a bit to one side--a little quirk that showed that she didn’t quite know what was about to happen next. She was trained properly to not do this--not to show that she felt anything. Kunsel could recognize that she did the little motion for his benefit, not for her own. 

Maybe it was Cissnei’s way of being warm in her own special fashion.

Blinking, Kunsel brought himself back to the present. “Mnhm?”

She nodded forward. “Do you smell that?”

Suddenly everything focused again. His head turned abruptly to the narrow corridor that was to his left. 

The fumes from a canister of spray paint wafted among the scent of the grease. He’d been so out of it that Cissnei had noticed the smell before he had! 

Nodding for her to move back, Kunsel proceeded down the corridor to a narrow walkway used for maintenance employees. At first he moved slowly. He didn't want the other man to hear the sound of his footsteps.

The hiss of a canister of paint halted. Then, he heard the can shake once--spray twice--and then a scramble of feet skittering into a run. Their culprit was on the move!

“Oh, no you don’t!” Kunsel shouted. He pursued the other man, sprinting towards the sound until it took the dark shape of a man. Their artist was concealing himself under a large black hoodie. A t-shirt had been tied around his face as a mask.

Kunsel nearly had his hands on him when the other man wove into another hallway and pushed himself through one of the employee entry doors. He was slippery, the SOLDIER could acknowledge that at least. 

Kunsel looked down at their door as he pushed through the exit. The lock had previously been busted in. This guy definitely knew how to break through things!

The Avalanche member ran towards the tracks. That was, until a security bot shot a bullet into his shoulder. The man in the hoodie didn’t flinch, he only changed direction. But, it was enough time for Kunsel to draw his blade. 

The sound of his drawn sword rang through the space. A train rushed down the tracks and a gush of hot, gritty air filled Kunsel’s mouth.

The artist didn’t run. Instead, he halted, and turned his back. He put his head down.

“Hands up,” Kunsel told him.

Reluctantly, the man in the hoodie did what he was told. When he raised his hands, one was still grasping the canister of paint. 

“What’s your name?”

There was a silence. The artist's shoulders seemed to pull down, as if he were a bit uncertain about how to answer that question.

“You talk? I asked a question. What’s your name?” Kunsel repeated, tapping the flat of his blade to the man’s shoulder. Unexpectedly, the man’s demeanor didn’t even budge. His shoulders didn’t raise or lower. When he spoke, his voice sounded of gravel and something familiar.

“It’s Finn.” 

The terseness of it was jarring. It was as if Kunsel was the one that had been doing him a disservice by apprehending him.

Kunsel grabbed the back of his hood and yanked it down off his head. _That_ was when Finn flinched. Certainly enough, he was wearing one of the red headbands that identified him as an Avalanche member. He had shaggy, bottle-blond hair. It had obviously been bleached a few times from a darker color that was growing in at the roots. Finn had a hack-job haircut that was probably done in someone’s kitchen, trimmed to his collar and messily sticking out in all directions.

Finn's head ducked far down toward his chest. His shoulders raised up around his ears. Finn was hiding behind his own frame. And for the most part, it was working.

“What’s your name?” Finn asked in a low voice, dropping his hands to pull up the t-shirt around his face.

“I said hands up!” Even though he couldn’t hear it, Kunsel felt his voice falter. He’d need to stay level for this. Cissnei was watching but--

It was obvious that Finn was pitching his voice a few octaves down, purposely changing it in order to hide. Why would an Avalanche member need to hide his voice? Was he an employee? What if he was a SOLDIER too? What if they knew one another? Kunsel gulped nervously. If this man was a SOLDIER, he'd have to be careful. He didn't know if he could fight well in his current state.

His throat felt like he had swallowed a tablespoon of the rail system’s crud.

Finn listened. He put his hands up. After a silence, Kunsel answered him as clearly as he could. “I am 1st Class SOLDIER Operator, Kunsel.”

Finn lowered his hands, his shoulders shaking, despite himself. “ _You’re Kunsel?”_ he whispered. His next sentence was quiet. "A 1st Class SOLDIER Operator...amazing!"

Though quiet, Finn hadn’t pitched his voice lower this time. 

“Finn,” Kunsel warned, tapping the back of the other’s hand with the flat of his sword.

In a turn of events, Finn snickered. He put his hands up again, his fingers straightening playfully upward. It was as if he knew that he’d been given the upper hand. 

Kunsel took a step forward, angling his sword at the crook of Finn’s neck.

Finn didn’t move.

“Alright,” the blond said clearly, distinct enough to not be misheard. The sound of his voice was unmistakable--friendly, but firm. Finn had a voice that you could trust your secrets to and you’d know they were safe. The familiarity of the sound made the 1st Class’ heart squeeze. He’d wanted to tear it out of his own chest. Obviously, he was hearing things. He’d heard them before. This was why he needed to work with a Turk 24/7! So he didn’t go absolutely out of his mind on a mission like he was doing now.

Then, Finn asked. “Kunsel, do you have a gun?”

Mako blue eyes glanced down to the pistol on Finn’s hip. He lowered his sword and took the weapon from the blond. Finn grinned, but he kept his head down. 

“You have backup so--” He cleared his throat, nodding toward the security bot. “Do a man a favor and nix the camera?”

“Why should I listen to you?” Kunsel ventured.

“Cissnei’s not far, right? That’s more than enough backup in case I can’t be trusted,” Finn said with a shrug. “She’s plenty. We both know she’s plenty. Kill the security feed, okay?”

He knew about Cissnei.

A feeling of hot shock washed over Kunsel as he realized how Finn could be so fearless. Who on this Planet could take a bullet to the shoulder and not even flinch?

Kunsel swallowed hard and with Finn’s gun, he put three bullets into the security bot. 

There was a moment of silence and Finn lowered his head a little further, he glanced over his shoulder to look at Kunsel and for the briefest of seconds, Kunsel saw a flicker of mako blue glint in the other man’s eyes. 

Cissnei threw her shuriken. With identical speed, Finn’s canister of spray paint knocked it off course. It exploded into a cloud of army green. 

Kunsel hadn’t seen a single person who could knock Cissnei’s attacks off course.

Cissnei, however, knew of only one man capable.

Instead of retaliating and attacking a second time, she ran out of the security of the shadows. Cissnei’s feet scuffled to a stop. She staggered a bit, keeping her eyes dead set ahead. “I get it now,” she breathed. “Finn. It’s an old Banoran word for the color of someone’s hair. It’s usually translated to ‘white’ but the literal translation is...”

“...Fair,” Kunsel said, finishing her sentence. 

She smiled wearily in reply. Slowly, she dropped onto her knees and looked at the shape of Finn from behind. He was stronger than he looked. The hoodie made him look twiggy, like a man hidden inside a big pile of laundry. Yet, she looked at him, her eyes wide, as if she knew he was anything but.

It was like looking at a dead man walking.

“Do you have any idea how long we waited for you?” She said, the tone of her voice almost muted in the big space. In the distance, another train rattled in the tunnel--rushing by on a track that would not pass them. 

Finn’s shoulders rose, then fell. 

“So is Finn a code name?” Kunsel asked.

The blond turned and raked his hands through his hair. One lock of hair flipped over his forehead before the rest of his bangs came forward next. “‘Course it is,” he said, one dark brow arching. His mako blue eyes looked more amused than anything. “You two don’t seriously expect me to use my real name anymore, do you?” 

The blond looked between the two of them, and after a moment of consideration, he pulled down the t-shirt that had been hiding his nose and mouth. Finn’s smile consisted of sunshine and honey, with deep dimples that pulled at his cheeks. Yet, the most notable feature of his face was the large cross-shaped scar that marred his jaw.

“Oh…” Kunsel said, taking a step back. “Oh…”

Finn nodded, lifting one hand lazily and letting it drop to his side. “I know.”

“You’re--” Kunsel said, the joy and surprise and _shock_ evident in his voice. Finn wasn’t a stranger at all! It took everything in his body not to fling himself onto this guy.

That voice! 

That face! 

This was Zack Fair--he was… “You’re--” Kunsel stammered, eyes wide from beneath his mask.

“I’m blond,” Zack said with an understanding nod, finishing the sentence for him.


End file.
